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(This thread is mod-approved, and about a specific series; not anime in general.)

So Serial Experiments Lain is (obviously) one of my favorite shows ever, and Despera's basically the next best thing to a sequel.
Chiaki Konaka is writing it, and Yoshitoshi ABe is (of course) handling the art work.

I don't know much about it, suffice it to say that I'm hyped.

Here's what little Wikipedia has to say about the plot:

The story centers around a 14 year old girl named Ain, who often builds devices despite the lack of scientific background for them. The sci-fi alternative period story is set in Tokyo during the Taishō era in 1922, one year before the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.

And, the players:

(not very subtle on the protagonist's name)

Ain - A 14 year old girl who resides in her workshop inside the basement of the Ryōunkaku in Asakusa, Tokyo. A technical genius with no prior scientific knowledge, she is able to create electronic devices far beyond the capabilities of the current era. Some of the devices created include early versions of a modern computer, complete with typewriter keyboards and cathode ray tube display monitors.

Unknown Man - A man in his 30s who is an associate of Ain's. In the prologue chapter of the novel, he claims to be able to see the future through the displays on Ain's computer monitors. His face and identity has yet to be revealed.

Enoki - A military officer who works for the Japanese army's science institute. He holds the rank of 2nd lieutenant. Enoki is sent to Asakusa to investigate the unstable electrical discharge occurring in the vicinity of the Ryōunkaku.

Kimiyasu Fuenokōji - A Japanese nobleman with the title of viscount. It is unknown what relationship Kimiyasu has with Ain, but he is interested in her unorthodox inventions. He has a primary residence in Sanbanchō of Chiyoda-ku, and a second residence at the Kanda-Surugadai district.

Barbara Andrei - A Russian woman of aristocratic origins, Barbara is a refugee who escaped from Harbin during the disownment of the presence of Russians by the Chinese Republic. She lives in the Kanda-Surugadai residence owned by Kimiyasu who has taken her in. Ain is particularly uncomfortable of Barbara's presence as she is frightened of her pale white complexion, presumably having never seen a Russian before.

Posts

Lain was my first anime series and I thought it was awesome at the time, but looking back it was really badly animated and didn't make any fucking sense. It would be cool to see a "remake" though, I'll have to check this out.

I've had a Despera wallpaper on my PSP ever since it was first mentioned about a year ago. Gotta love /ABe/. I know I've seen cj post there a few times. I mostly just lurk. /abe/ is http://hr.deadgods.net/hr/index.html by the way
I really need to work on my collection of ABe merch when I'm in Japan. Right now I've only really got Gaisokyu and Omnipresence. Fortunately Funi resurrected the old Geneon DVDs, so I won't have to pay rape price for the old boxsets like I was going to. Unless the Geneon packaging is nicer, in which case I may have to (though hopefully the premium on those will fall as demand is lowered). I also REALLY need to hunt down a copy of the Haibane Renmei artbook. That would be my holy grail, but it's super rare these days.
I'm really hoping for a Haibane successor of some kind, if it's ever possible. That is my favorite series ever. Lain is good too, though.
Also, has anyone read any of Abe's other doujins? I haven't had the time to obtain any, but most of them (especially Ryotsuka) look adorable and/or awesome
[/fanwank]

But yeah, Despera looks really cool. Hopefully it gets around to coming around in a decent timeframe.

It's open to interpretation, but my opinion? She's a protocol designed to bridge the gap between the 'real' world and the wired, and she was 'raised' by false parents until she was ready to integrate into the wired.

Masami Eiri is a psychopath who thought he was in control of her, but he was just a hacker with delusions of grandeur. At the end, Lain realizes she was just causing everyone pain, so she erased herself, and reset everything. She's still out there, but not in the 'real' world.

As for Mika(Lain's sister), poor girl caught in the wrong place at the very, very wrong time.

Serial Experiments Lain on Blu-Ray? That's kind of funny to me, as it wouldn't even be on the list of "anime I'd like to own in high definition" that I would write out if someone asked me to produce such a list.

Now, Haibane Renmei...

EDIT: Wow, okay, I will admit, the animation actually does look better in HD. I guess they actually had access to cells and such?

Years ago I walked into a Japanese import shop in Ann Arbor and picked the OST and I think a remix CD to Lain. Shortly after I was spending an insane amount of money to procure the series (Lain of course).

Then my step brother took them and now I have no Lain. The moral of the story is I used to re-watch it quite often and I loved that series so a spiritual successor sounds awesome.

Haibane Renmei had some plot lines that didn't go very far due to the off-the-cuff scripting ABe used, but the main story line (Reki's past/future) is really strong. The final couple of episodes still hit me harder than almost anything else out there.

That was one of the things I loved about Haibane Renmei, really. It felt like a bigger world with a whole lot of mysteries and points to speculate about, since there were a few things ABe just couldn't wrap up in thirteen episodes. And the best part is that his word of god on the subject is "speculate on". And really, the last half of the series is some of the best stuff ever.

I need to get an IMCO 6700 Super like Reki's. That'd be cool. I also found a place in Japan to pick up all of the HR doujinshi and the art book for a much lower price than any western dealer.